Shoe scraper



I. RADVANYI SHOE S CRAPER June 12, 1962 Filed March 25, 1959 INVENTOR lMRE RADVA/VY/ 7 I I a ATTORNEYS ism.

United States Patent 3,038,190 SHQE SCRAPER llmre Radvanyi, 13 Schwindgasse, Vienna, Austria Filed Mar. 23, 1959, er. No. 801,188 Claims priority, application Austria Mar. 21, 1958 1 Claim. (Cl. 15-415) This invention relates to a shoe scraper which distinguishes in that all parts subjected to Wear are readily replaceable, as well as by a high durability and a particularly attractive appearance.

Various types of shoe scrapers are known, including those in which strips of resilient material are held between strips of rigid material. Unitsthus composed are mainly assembled to form link mats, which are frequently constructed from wooden bars. Scraper mats or grates of this kind, however, are not very durable because the joints wear out soon as a result of the impacts applied thereto when scraping a shoe. Besides, these mats tend to be pushed together by lateral thrust resulting in the overturning of a row of links. The mats are then no longer flat and tend to cause accidents. It is also usual to assemble such link mats as well as mats consisting of continuous spaced bars by means of transversely extending through bolts having terminal screw threads and nuts.

It has also been repeatedly proposed to construct shoe scrapers in the form of grates comprising profiled metal bars consisting of open-topped channels replaceably receiving scraping strips of rubber and the like. In addition to the fact that scrapers of this kind can only be used on one side, the manufacture of the profiled metal bars and their fixation to a base grate or the like is expensive. Unless the profile of the metal bars is downwardly en larged in dovetail shape or other, special means are provided, a reliable retention of the scraper elements by a mere clamping action is not ensured.

In the subject matter of the invention known features mentioned hereinabove are used in a shoe scraper which is free of the disadvantages of the known solutions.

This is achieved according to the invention in that the shoe scraper comprises a plurality of units each of which consists of a pair of channel rails of corrosion-resisting material, preferably aluminum, which rails face each other with their open sides, and a strip of tough, resilient material placed on edge and enclosed between these channel rails, said units extending throughout the length of the shoe scraper and being held together with interposed spacers by boltlike clamping means transversely extending therethrough to form a sheet structure, in which the strips providing the actual tread and scraping means protrude on both sides over the associated channel rails in height and length.

Further details of the invention are apparent from the subsequent description and from the drawing, in which FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an illustrative embodiment of an element of the subject matter of the invention and FIG. 2 is a transverse sectional view showing several of said elements.

Pairs of rails l, which consist of sections having a smooth outside surface, i.e. channel sections, for economy of material and to facilitate cleaning, face each other with their open sides and clamp between themselves a strip 2 consisting of tough, resilient and highly wear-resisting material and placed on edge. The height of the strip 2 exceeds that of the rails 1 so that the strip 2 protrudes over said rails on both sides by about 3.12 mm. The strip 2 protrudes also somewhat over the ends of the rails 3,038,193 Patented June 12, 1962 1 (FIGS. 1, 3) to enable the sides of shoe soles to be scraped too. The ends of the rails 1 may be open or may be closed by flattening the profile.

The rails 1 and the strip 2 have spaced openings 4, which may consist of holes or slots. Clamping means 5 extend through these openings and may consist of bolts or, if desired, or flexible elements such as wire ropes. To construct a shoe scraper, a plurality of the units consisting of two rails 1 and an intervening strip of material 2 are threaded onto these clamping means. Spacing sleeves 6 are interposed to provide free spaces. The clamping means 5 carry screw threads (not shown in the drawing) at one or both ends and these screw threads are in engagement with nuts, which apply against the outermost rails and when tightened stress and consolidate the grate consisting of the units. The ends of the clamping means 5 may also be riveted in known manner.

The units assembled to form the shoe scraper according to the invention may differ in length if this is necessary to provide a mat having a desired contour. The units may also be of curved configuration, e.g., in the shape of an arc of a circle. In this case it is suitable to arrange the clamping means to extend in a radial direction.

As ha been mentioned hereinbefore, aluminum is preferred as a material for the rails. The aluminum may be anodized for color effects. The strips 2 may consist of plastics and the like rather than rubber and may have different colors.

It is emphasized that individual features of the invention have already been used in view of the large number of known types of shoe scrapers and the like. As has been mentioned hereinbefore, however, the combination of these features provided according to the invention results in a particularly attractive appearance, extremely high durability, ease of replacement of worn parts, ease of cleaning and high resistance to moisture so that shoe scrapers according to the invention can be used to advantage as a floor covering grate in vehicles, baths etc. The high durability, which is further increased by the fact that the shoe scraper may be used on both sides, makes shoe scrapers constructed according to the invention particularly suitable for busy entrances to stores, public buildings, hotels and the like.

I claim:

A shoe scraper comprising a plurality of separate scraper units parallel to and spaced from each other in the longitudinal direction of said shoe scraper and throughout its length, each scraper unit including a strip of tough material placed on edge, and two channel members extending on opposite sides of the strip almost throughout the total length thereof, said channel members having flanges with the edges thereof engaging and gripping the strip on both sides thereof, said strip extending upwardly and downwardly an equal distance beyond the two channel members; tightening means including spaced rods extending parallel to each other and passing transversely through the strips and channel members; and short, tubular spacers being provided between adjacent scraper units, said rods extending through said spacers.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 218,948 Ferguson Aug. 26, 1879 1,165,292 Simpson et al Dec. 21, 1915 2,800,688 Lobel July 30, 1957 

